Apparatuses and methods for linking mobile computing devices for use in a dual-screen extended configuration

ABSTRACT

An exemplary linking apparatus includes a first data transfer connector plug configured to mate with a first data transfer connector receptacle of a first mobile computing device. The apparatus also includes a second data transfer connector plug configured to mate with a second data transfer connector receptacle of a second mobile computing device. To house the first and second data transfer connector plugs, the apparatus includes a housing that is configured to facilitate a positioning of the first and second mobile computing devices in a dual-screen extended configuration in front of respective eyes of a user. The apparatus further includes a plurality of conductors electrically coupling the first and second data transfer connector plugs to provide a data transfer link between the first and second mobile computing devices when the first and second data transfer connector plugs are mated with the first and second data transfer connector receptacles, respectively.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/279,387, filed Sep. 28, 2016, and entitled“Apparatuses and Methods for Linking Mobile Computing Devices forVirtual Reality Experiences,” which is hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Advances in computing and networking technology have made new forms ofmedia content possible. For example, virtual reality media content isavailable that may immerse viewers (or “users”) into interactive virtualreality worlds that the users may experience by directing theirattention to any of a variety of things being presented in the immersivevirtual reality world at the same time. For example, at any time duringthe presentation of the virtual reality media content, a userexperiencing the virtual reality media content may look around theimmersive virtual reality world in any direction with respect to both ahorizontal dimension (e.g., forward, backward, left, right, etc.) aswell as a vertical dimension (e.g., up, down, etc.), giving the user asense that he or she is actually present in and experiencing theimmersive virtual reality world.

In some cases, users may experience immersive virtual reality worldsusing mobile computing devices (e.g., standalone devices such assmartphones, digital music players, tablets devices, etc.) that are notonly configured to run virtual-reality-related applications but also torun non-virtual-reality-related applications as well. For example, amobile computing device of this type may be inserted into a virtualreality head mount (e.g., a commercially-available mounting apparatus),which may be mounted to a user's head for a presentation of a virtualreality experience to the user.

Unfortunately, certain characteristics of such mobile computing devices(e.g., the display size, the display quality and resolution, the sensoraccuracy, the processing capacity, etc.) may limit the quality of theuser's virtual reality experience in terms of the authenticity of thevirtual reality experience, the immersiveness of the virtual realityexperience, and the like. Accordingly, even for virtual realityexperiences presented using modern mobile computing devices withincreasingly high-quality displays, sensors, and processingcapabilities, the quality of the virtual reality experiences may leaveroom for improvement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate various embodiments and are a partof the specification. The illustrated embodiments are merely examplesand do not limit the scope of the disclosure. Throughout the drawings,identical or similar reference numbers designate identical or similarelements.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary virtual reality distributionconfiguration that includes exemplary embodiments of a 360° camera, avirtual reality media backend system, and one or more media playerdevices according to principles described herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary virtual reality experience in which auser is presented with an exemplary field of view that includes contentof an exemplary immersive virtual reality world according to principlesdescribed herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary configurations of mobile computing devicesand virtual reality head mounts used to present virtual realityexperiences to a user according to principles described herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary mobile computing device linkingapparatus for physically and communicatively linking mobile computingdevices to enhance virtual reality experiences according to principlesdescribed herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary configuration in which the linkingapparatus of FIG. 4 is used to physically and communicatively linkmobile computing devices to enhance a virtual reality experienceaccording to principles described herein.

FIG. 6 illustrates exemplary mobile computing device linking apparatusesincluding housings constructed of various materials for facilitating apositioning of mobile computing devices in various ways according toprinciples described herein.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary mobile computing device linkingapparatus with a housing that includes exemplary structural elements forseating mobile computing devices according to principles describedherein.

FIG. 8 illustrates exemplary mobile computing device linking apparatusesthat include auxiliary connectors according to principles describedherein.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary configuration in which exemplaryinstances of a virtual-reality-related application running on mobilecomputing devices physically and communicatively linked together by anexemplary mobile computing device linking apparatus provide an enhancedvirtual reality experience by communicating over a data transfer linkprovided by the linking apparatus according to principles describedherein.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary method for physically andcommunicatively linking mobile computing devices to enhance virtualreality experiences according to principles described herein.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary computing device according toprinciples described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Apparatuses and methods for linking mobile computing devices for virtualreality experiences are described herein. For example, as will bedescribed and illustrated below, an apparatus (e.g., a mobile computingdevice linking apparatus) may include a first data transfer connectorplug and a second data transfer connector plug. The first data transferconnector plug may be associated with a first digital data transferprotocol (e.g., a USB protocol, a LIGHTNING protocol, a THUNDERBOLTprotocol, an HDMI protocol, a FIREWIRE protocol, an Ethernet protocol,etc.) and may be configured to mate with a first data transfer connectorreceptacle of a first mobile computing device. For example, the firstmobile computing device may be a standalone device such as a mobilephone (e.g., a smartphone), a digital music player (e.g., a digitalmusic player with a screen), a tablet computing device, a digitalreading device, or the like. As such, the first mobile computing devicemay be configured to run a first instance of a virtual-reality-relatedapplication, as well as to run one or more non-virtual-reality-relatedapplications (e.g., applications preloaded on the mobile computingdevice, “apps” downloaded from an online app store, etc.).

Similarly, the second data transfer connector plug may be associatedwith a second digital data transfer protocol (e.g., the same or adifferent digital data transfer protocol as the first digital datatransfer protocol) and may be configured to mate with a second datatransfer connector receptacle of a second mobile computing device. Forexample, the second mobile computing device may be the same type (e.g.,brand, model, etc.) of mobile computing device as the first mobilecomputing device, or may be a different type of mobile computing devicethan the first mobile computing device. Like the first mobile computingdevice, the second mobile computing device may be configured to run asecond instance of the virtual-reality-related application, as well asto run one or more non-virtual-reality-related applications (e.g. thesame or other “apps” that the first mobile computing device isconfigured to run).

The apparatus may further include a housing that houses the first andsecond data transfer connector plugs. In some examples, the housing maybe configured to facilitate a positioning of the first and second mobilecomputing devices in front of respective eyes of a user in a dual-screenextended configuration (e.g., a dual-screen extended landscapeconfiguration, a dual-screen extended portrait configuration, etc.) foran enhanced presentation of a virtual reality experience to the user.For example, the housing may facilitate the positioning of the first andsecond mobile computing devices by allowing the first and second datatransfer connector plugs to mate with the first and second data transferconnector receptacles, respectively, only when the first and secondmobile computing devices are physically adjacent to one another (e.g.,only when the first and second mobile computing devices are in closeproximity to one another and/or in the dual-screen extendedconfiguration, etc.). In other words, in certain examples, the first andsecond data transfer connector plugs of the apparatus may not be able tomate with the first and second data transfer connector receptacles ofthe mobile computing devices when the mobile computing devices are notphysically adjacent (e.g., are not in close proximity to one anotherand/or are not in the dual-screen extended configuration, etc.).

As used herein, two mobile computing devices may be positioned in a“dual-screen extended configuration” when the mobile computing devicesare positioned adjacent to one another with display screens of bothphones facing in substantially the same direction (i.e., such that auser can see both screens at once). As used herein, mobile computingdevices may be positioned adjacent to one another by touching (e.g.,abutting) one another or by being in close proximity to one another. Forexample, mobile computing devices positioned adjacent to one another maybe no more than 20 centimeters (“cm”) from one another in certainexamples, and no more than 10 cm, 5 cm, 3 cm, and/or 1 cm from oneanother in the same or other examples.

In some examples, mobile computing devices positioned in a dual-screenextended configuration may both be positioned according to a sameparticular orientation. For example, the mobile computing devices may bepositioned in a “dual-screen extended landscape configuration” when bothmobile computing devices in the dual-screen extended configuration arein a landscape (i.e., horizontal) orientation. Similarly, the mobilecomputing devices may be positioned in a “dual-screen extended portraitconfiguration” when both mobile computing devices in the dual-screenextended configuration are in a portrait (i.e., vertical) orientation.In other examples, mobile computing devices positioned in a dual-screenextended configuration may each be positioned according to a differentparticular orientation. For example, one mobile computing device may bepositioned in a landscape orientation while the other mobile computingdevice may be positioned in a portrait orientation.

Respective data transfer connector receptacles (e.g., USB receptacles,LIGHTNING receptacles, etc.) may be facing one another when the mobilecomputing devices are in a dual-screen extended configuration.Additionally, each mobile computing device in a dual-screen extendedconfiguration may be positioned at an angle of approximately 90° or lessthan 90° (e.g., between 45° and 90°) with respect to a linesymmetrically bisecting the configuration of the mobile computingdevices between the mobile computing devices. In other words, thedisplay screens of the mobile computing devices in the dual-screenextended configuration may be coplanar or may be angled inwardly, so asto, for example, better contour around a head of a user when the mobilecomputing devices are in front of the respective eyes of the user forthe enhanced presentation of the virtual reality experience.

Examples of dual-screen extended configurations will be illustrated anddescribed in more detail below. In particular, examples of dual-screenextended landscape configurations will be illustrated and describedherein. While many of the examples described and illustrated below willrelate to dual-screen extended landscape configurations, it will beunderstood that the same principles illustrated and described may applyto any type of dual-screen extended configuration such as dual-screenextended portrait configurations, dual-screen extended configurationswith mixed orientations, or any other dual-screen extendedconfigurations as may serve a particular implementation. Whiledual-screen extended landscape configurations may be preferred forcertain implementations, because of variations in mobile devices (e.g.,shapes and sizes of display screens, placement and orientation of datatransfer connector receptacles, etc.), other suitable configurations maybe used in other implementations.

The apparatus may further include a plurality of conductors electricallycoupling the first data transfer connector plug with the second datatransfer connector plug. The plurality of conductors may be housedinternally within the housing of the apparatus. In some examples, theplurality of conductors may provide, when the first and second datatransfer connector plugs are mated with the first and second datatransfer connector receptacles, respectively, a data transfer linkbetween the first and second mobile computing devices. As such, dataassociated with the first and second instances of thevirtual-reality-related application running, respectively, on the firstand second mobile computing devices may be transferred over the datatransfer link in accordance with the first and second digital datatransfer protocols in order to enable the enhanced presentation of thevirtual reality experience to the user when the first and second mobilecomputing devices are positioned in front of the respective eyes of theuser in the dual-screen extended landscape configuration.

While the first and second mobile computing devices are physically andcommunicatively linked by a mobile computing device linking apparatus(“linking apparatus”) as described above, the mobile computing devicesmay run respective instances of the virtual-reality-related applicationto present an enhanced virtual reality experience to a user. A virtualreality experience in which two mobile computing devices, rather thanone mobile computing device, are used to provide the experience mayincrease the display resolution, processing power, memory resources,sensor accuracy, and/or any other resource, input, and/or attributeassociated with the presentation of the virtual reality experience.

A virtual reality experience (e.g., whether presented using one mobilecomputing device or enhanced with two mobile computing devicesphysically and communicatively linked using a linking apparatus) mayinvolve presenting, on a display screen of one or both of the mobilecomputing devices associated with the user, a field of view of animmersive virtual reality world. The immersive virtual reality world maybe fully immersive in the sense that the user may not be presented withany image of the real world in which the user is located while the useris experiencing the immersive virtual reality world, in contrast tocertain “augmented reality” technologies. However, while real-worldscenery directly surrounding the user may not be presented together withthe immersive virtual reality world, the immersive virtual reality worldmay, in certain examples, be generated based on data (e.g., video and/oraudio data) representative of camera-captured real-world scenery ratherthan animated or computer-generated scenery of imaginary worlds such asthose commonly generated for video games, animated entertainmentprograms, and so forth. For example, as will be described in more detailbelow, camera-captured real-world scenery may include real-world places(e.g., city streets, buildings, landscapes, etc.), real-world events(e.g., live sporting events, large celebrations such as New Year's Eveor Mardi Gras, etc.), fictionalized live action entertainment (e.g.,virtual reality television shows, virtual reality movies, etc.), and soforth.

The user may experience the immersive virtual reality world by way ofthe field of view. For example, the field of view may include content ofthe immersive virtual reality world (e.g., images depicting scenery andobjects surrounding the user within the immersive virtual realityworld). Additionally, the field of view may dynamically change inresponse to user input provided by the user as the user experiences theimmersive virtual reality world. For example, the media player devicemay detect user input (e.g., moving or turning the display screen uponwhich the field of view is presented) that represents a request to shiftadditional content into the field of view in place of the previouscontent included within the field of view. In response, the field ofview may display the additional content in place of the previouscontent. In this way, the field of view may essentially provide the usera “window” through which the user can easily and naturally look aroundthe immersive virtual reality world.

Apparatuses and methods described herein for physically andcommunicatively linking mobile computing devices may provide significantadvantages by enhancing virtual reality experiences for users. Forexample, by physically and communicatively linking two mobile computingdevices in the dual-screen extended landscape configuration to presentthe virtual reality experience, rather than splitting a display screenof a single mobile computing device into two viewing areas, a much widerfield of view (or a similarly wide field of view at a much higherresolution) may be provided to the user. The field of view presented ina virtual reality experience using one or more mobile computing devicesmay be determined by several factors such as the size of the mobilecomputing devices, the size of a virtual reality head mount (e.g., acommercially-available mounting apparatus used to mount the one or moremobile computing devices to the user's head), the optics of the virtualreality head mount (e.g., the focal length of lenses built into themounting apparatus, the positions of the lenses relative to one anotherand relative to the user's eyes, etc.), and the like. As such, while afield of view of only 60° to 90° horizontally may be provided by certainconfigurations using a single mobile computing device, a much wider andfuller field of view (e.g., up to approximately a full 180° ofhorizontal field of view that humans are capable of perceiving) may beprovided by configurations where two mobile computing devices in adual-screen extended landscape configuration are physically andcommunicatively linked together. This may significantly enhance avirtual reality experience of the user by filling a much moresignificant portion of the user's peripheral vision with content of theimmersive virtual reality world to more fully immerse the user in theimmersive virtual reality world.

Moreover, when two mobile computing devices are used to present thevirtual reality experience rather than one, the total screen resolution(e.g., the total number of pixels) available for presenting theimmersive virtual reality world may be doubled (e.g., or approximatelydoubled if different types of mobile computing devices are used). Thisis also true for the total processing power available for rendering theimmersive virtual reality world, for the total data download bandwidthavailable for downloading virtual reality media content representativeof the immersive virtual reality world, and/or for various other finitecomputing resources that are available in both mobile computing devices.As a result, the mobile computing devices may provide, to each eye ofthe user, a significantly higher resolution picture (which may beparticularly noticeable when the display screens are mounted close tothe user's eyes) and may have access to significantly more processingpower, download bandwidth, and/or other computing resources helpful foraccessing and processing such high resolution images.

Additionally, the sensor accuracy of two mobile computing devices may begreater than the sensor accuracy of one mobile computing device usedalone. For example, if the positions and orientations of the mobilecomputing devices with respect to one another are known (e.g., due to acalibration setup process, because the mobile computing devices aremounted within the virtual reality head mount in particular positionsand orientations, etc.), sensor data captured by each mobile computingdevice may be compared, averaged, and/or otherwise combined (e.g.,taking into account the known positions and orientations of the mobilecomputing devices with respect to one another) to generate more accuratesensor data than either mobile computing device may generate alone.Sensor data may be monitored by a virtual-reality-related application todetermine which direction a user is looking, what direction a user ismoving, whether and/or at what speed a user is moving, etc. Accordingly,by increasing the accuracy of the sensor data by combining sensor datafrom both mobile computing devices, the virtual reality experience maybe enhanced by the mobile computing devices by more accuratelydetermining and/or responding to user movements.

Various embodiments will now be described in more detail with referenceto the figures. The disclosed methods and systems may provide one ormore of the benefits mentioned above and/or various additional and/oralternative benefits that will be made apparent herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary virtual reality distributionconfiguration 100 that includes exemplary embodiments of a 360° camera,a virtual reality media backend system, and one or more media playerdevices (e.g., mobile computing devices or other devices used toplayback virtual reality media content). It will be understood thatconfiguration 100 is exemplary only. For example, while, as will bedescribed below, configuration 100 may generate and distribute virtualreality media content allowing a user to experience an immersive virtualreality world from a predetermined place within the immersive virtualreality world (e.g., a place corresponding to a location of the 360°camera), it will be understood that other types of virtual reality mediacontent may be generated and distributed in other types of virtualreality distribution configurations. For example, in certain examples, aplurality of cameras (e.g., non-360° cameras) and/or other sensorssurrounding a real-world scene (e.g., a real-time real-world event,etc.) may be used to capture visual and positional (i.e., depth) datawith respect to objects within the real-world scene, and may generateand distribute a volumetric model of the objects within the real-worldscene that the user may experience from an arbitrary vantage point(e.g., a vantage point within the real-world scene).

As shown in FIG. 1, a 360° camera 102 (“camera 102”) may capture and/orgenerate a 360° image of real-world scenery 104 around a center pointcorresponding to camera 102. For example, camera 102 may capture aplurality of images from each of a plurality of segment capture cameras106 built into or otherwise associated with camera 102, and may generatethe 360° image of real-world scenery 104 by combining the plurality ofimages captured by segment-capture cameras 106.

Camera 102 may capture data representative of 360° images of real-worldscenery 104 and may transmit the data to a virtual reality media backendsystem 108 (“backend system 108”) by way of a network 110. Afterpreparing and/or processing the data representative of the 360° imagesto generate an immersive virtual reality world based on the 360° images,backend system 108 may transmit data representative of the immersivevirtual reality world to one or more media player devices 112 such as ahead-mounted virtual reality device 112-1, a personal computer device112-2, a mobile computing device 112-3, and/or to any other form factorof media player device that may serve a particular implementation.Regardless of what form factor media player devices 112 take, users 114(e.g., users 114-1 through 114-3) may experience the immersive virtualreality world by way of media player devices 112. Each of the elementsof configuration 100 will now be described in detail.

Camera 102 may be set up and/or operated by a virtual reality contentcreator and may include any type of camera that is configured to capturedata representative of a 360° image of real-world scenery 104 around acenter point corresponding to camera 102. As used herein, a 360° imageis any still or video image that depicts the surroundings (e.g.,real-world scenery 104) of a center point (e.g., a center pointassociated with the location of camera 102) on all sides along at leastone dimension. For example, one type of 360° image may include apanoramic image that depicts a complete 360° by 45° ring around a centerpoint corresponding to a camera (e.g., camera 102). Another type of 360°image may include a spherical image that depicts not only the ringaround the center point, but an entire 360° by 180° sphere surroundingthe center point on all sides. In certain examples, a 360° image may bebased on a non-circular geometric structure. For example, certain 360°images may be based on cubes, rectangular prisms, pyramids, and/or othergeometric structures that may serve a particular implementation, ratherthan being based on spheres.

Camera 102 may be configured to capture the data representative of the360° image of real-world scenery 104 in any way that may serve aparticular implementation. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, camera 102may capture various segments of real-world scenery 104 using segmentcapture cameras 106, which may each capture an image of a single segmentof real-world scenery 104 that may be combined (e.g., stitched together)with other segments to generate the 360° image of real-world scenery104. In certain examples, segment capture cameras 106 may each representa single camera unit (e.g., including a lens and suitable image capturehardware) built into a single 360° camera configured to capture 360°images. In other examples, camera 102 may include an array of segmentcapture cameras 106 that are each a single, standalone camera configuredto capture standard images (e.g., images depicting less than a 360°view) that may later be combined to form the 360° image. In yet otherexamples, camera 102 may include one or more “fish-eye” lensesconfigured to capture a very wide-angle image (e.g., a spherical imageor a semi-spherical image) that can be used as the 360° image orprocessed to generate the 360° image. Alternatively, camera 102 mayinclude a single, standard camera that captures and/or combines aplurality of still images of real-world scenery 104 taken at differentpoints in time (e.g., using a “panorama mode” of the camera or a similarfeature) to capture still 360° images. In certain examples, camera 102may include one or more stereoscopic cameras. Camera 102 may also useany combination of the 360° image capture techniques described above orany other capture techniques that may serve a particular implementation.

Subsequent to capturing raw image data representative of real-worldscenery 104, camera 102 may generate from the raw image data a 360°image of real-world scenery 104. For example, camera 102 may beconfigured to automatically process the raw image data (e.g., bycombining a plurality of images captured by segment capture cameras 106,by processing images captured by a fish-eye lens, etc.) to form the 360°image, and then may transmit data representative of the 360° image tobackend system 108. Alternatively, camera 102 may be configured totransmit the raw image data directly to backend system 108, and anyprocessing and/or combining of the raw image data may be performedwithin backend system 108.

Camera 102 may capture any real-world scenery 104 that may serve aparticular embodiment. For example, real-world scenery 104 may includeany indoor or outdoor real-world location such as the streets of a city,a museum, a scenic landscape, a satellite orbiting and looking down uponthe Earth, the surface of another planet, or the like. Real-worldscenery 104 may further include certain events such as a stock car race,a football game or other sporting event, a large-scale party such as NewYear's Eve on Times Square in New York City, or other events that mayinterest potential users. In certain examples, real-world scenery 104may be a setting for a fictionalized event, such as a set of alive-action virtual reality television show or movie.

In some implementations, capturing real-world scenery 104 using camera102 may be optional. For example, a 360° image of scenery surrounding acenter point may be completely computer-generated (e.g., animated) basedon models of an imaginary world rather than captured from real-worldscenery 104 by camera 102. As such, camera 102 may be omitted in certainexamples.

Backend system 108 may be associated with (e.g., provided and/or managedby) a virtual reality media content service provider (e.g., a networkservice provider, a cable service provider, a satellite serviceprovider, an Internet service provider, a provider of virtual realitymobile applications, etc.) and may be configured to provide virtualreality media content to users (e.g., subscribers of a virtual realitymedia content service, users who download or otherwise acquire virtualreality mobile applications) by way of media player devices 112. To thisend, backend system 108 may receive, generate, process, and/or maintaindata representative of virtual reality media content. For example,backend system 108 may be configured to receive camera-captured data(e.g., video data captured by camera 102) representative of a 360° imageof real-world scenery 104 around a center point corresponding to camera102. If the camera-captured data is raw image data (e.g., image datacaptured by each of segment capture cameras 106 that has not beencombined into a 360-image), backend system 108 may unwrap, combine(e.g., stitch together), or otherwise process the raw image data to formthe 360° image representative of real-world scenery 104.

Based on the camera-captured data representative of real-world scenery104 (e.g., the 360° image), backend system 108 may generate and maintainan immersive virtual reality world (i.e., data representative of animmersive virtual reality world that may be experienced by a user). Forexample, backend system 108 may generate a three-dimensional (“3D”)model of the immersive virtual reality world where virtual objects maybe presented along with projections of real-world scenery 104 to a userexperiencing the immersive virtual reality world. To generate theimmersive virtual reality world, backend system 108 may perform videotranscoding, slicing, orchestration, modeling, and/or any otherprocessing that may serve a particular embodiment.

Subsequent to or concurrent with generating one or more immersivevirtual reality worlds associated with one or more virtual reality mediacontent instances (also referred to herein as “virtual reality mediacontent programs”), backend system 108 may provide access to the virtualreality media content programs for users, such as subscribers of avirtual reality media content service operated by the virtual realitymedia content provider and/or users who download or otherwise acquirevirtual reality mobile applications provided by the virtual realitymedia content provider. To this end, backend system 108 may present afield of view of the immersive virtual reality world to users by way ofmedia player devices 112 in response to requests from media playerdevices 112 to access the virtual reality media content. For example, aswill be described in more detail below, backend system 108 may presentthe field of view by transmitting data representative of content of theimmersive virtual reality world (e.g., virtual objects within theimmersive virtual reality world, images of real-world scenery 104, etc.)to media player devices 112, which may render the data to display thecontent on their screens.

Camera 102, backend system 108, and media player devices 112 maycommunicate with one another using any suitable communicationtechnologies, devices, media, and/or protocols supportive of datacommunications, including, but not limited to, socket connections,Ethernet, data bus technologies, data transmission media, communicationdevices, Transmission Control Protocol (“TCP”), Internet Protocol(“IP”), File Transfer Protocol (“FTP”), Telnet, Hypertext TransferProtocol (“HTTP”), HTTPS, Session Initiation Protocol (“SIP”), SimpleObject Access Protocol (“SOAP”), Extensible Mark-up Language (“XML”) andvariations thereof, Real-Time Transport Protocol (“RTP”), User DatagramProtocol (“UDP”), Global System for Mobile Communications (“GSM”)technologies, Code Division Multiple Access (“CDMA”) technologies,Evolution Data Optimized Protocol (“EVDO”), 4G Long Term Evolution(“LTE”), Voice over IP (“VoIP”), Voice over LTE (“VoLTE”), WiMax, TimeDivision Multiple Access (“TDMA”) technologies, Short Message Service(“SMS”), Multimedia Message Service (“MMS”), radio frequency (“RF”)signaling technologies, wireless communication technologies (e.g.,Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc.), in-band and out-of-band signaling technologies,and other suitable communications technologies.

Network 110 may include any provider-specific network (e.g., a cable orsatellite carrier network or a mobile telephone network), the Internet,a wide area network, and/or any other suitable network. Data may flowbetween camera 102, backend system 108, and media player devices 112 byway of network 110 using any communication technologies, devices, media,and protocols as may serve a particular implementation. While only onenetwork 110 is shown to interconnect camera 102, backend system 108, andmedia player devices 112 in FIG. 1, it will be recognized that thesedevices and systems may intercommunicate by way of multipleinterconnected networks as may serve a particular implementation.

Media player devices 112 (i.e., head-mounted virtual reality device112-1, personal computer device 112-2, and mobile computing device112-3) may be used by users 114 (i.e., users 114-1 through 114-3) toaccess and experience virtual reality media content received frombackend system 108. To this end, media player devices 112 may eachinclude or be implemented by a device capable of presenting a field ofview of an immersive virtual reality world and detecting user input froma user (e.g. one of users 114) to dynamically change the content withinthe field of view as the user experiences the immersive virtual realityworld. For example, media player devices 112 may include or beimplemented by a head-mounted virtual reality device (e.g., a virtualreality gaming device), a personal computer device (e.g., a desktopcomputer, laptop computer, etc.), one or more mobile or wirelesscomputing devices (e.g., standalone devices such as smartphones, tabletdevices, digital reading devices, etc.), or any other device orconfiguration of devices that may serve a particular implementation tofacilitate receiving and/or presenting virtual reality media content.Different types of media player devices 112 (e.g., head-mounted virtualreality devices, personal computer devices, mobile computing devices,etc.) may provide different types of virtual reality experiences havingdifferent levels of immersiveness for users 114.

Media player devices 112 may be configured to allow users 114 to selectrespective virtual reality media content programs that users 114 maywish to experience on their respective media player devices 112. Incertain examples, media player devices 112 may download virtual realitymedia content programs that users 114 may experience offline (e.g.,without an active connection to backend system 108). In other examples,media player devices 112 may request and receive data streamsrepresentative of virtual reality media content programs that users 114experience while media player devices 112 remain in active communicationwith backend system 108 by way of network 110.

To facilitate users 114 in experiencing virtual reality media content,each of media player devices 112 may include or be associated with atleast one display screen upon which a field of view of an immersivevirtual reality world may be presented. Media player devices 112 mayalso include software configured to receive, maintain, and/or processdata representative of the immersive virtual reality world to presentcontent of the immersive virtual reality world within the field of viewon the display screens of the media player devices. For example, mediaplayer devices 112 may include dedicated, standalone softwareapplications (e.g., virtual-reality-related applications) configured toprocess and present data representative of immersive virtual realityworlds on the displays. In other examples, the software used to presentthe content of the immersive virtual reality worlds may includenon-dedicated software such as standard web browser applications.Certain media player devices 112 (e.g., personal computer device 112-2,and mobile computing device 112-3) may be configured not only to runvirtual-reality-related applications, but also to run one or morenon-virtual-reality-related applications (e.g., general purposeapplications).

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary virtual reality experience 200 in whicha user 202 is presented with an exemplary field of view 204 thatincludes content 206 of an exemplary immersive virtual reality world208. User 202 may experience immersive virtual reality world 208 (“world208”) by providing user input to dynamically change field of view 204 todisplay whatever content within world 208 that user 202 wishes to view.For example, the user input provided by user 202 may include anindication that user 202 wishes to look at content not currentlypresented within field of view 204 (i.e., content of world 208 otherthan content 206). For media player devices 112 such as personalcomputer 112-2 and/or mobile computing device 112-3, this user input mayinclude a mouse movement, navigation key input from a keyboard, a swipegesture, or the like. For media player devices 112 incorporatingparticular sensors (e.g., motion, directional, and/or orientationsensors) such as head-mounted virtual reality device 112-1 and/or mobilecomputing device 112-3, however, this user input may include a change toan orientation of the display screen of the media player device 112 withrespect to at least one axis of at least two orthogonal axes. Forexample, the media player device may be configured to sense changes inorientation of the display screen with respect to an x-axis, a y-axis,and a z-axis that are all orthogonal to one another. As such, the mediaplayer device 112 may be configured to detect the change to theorientation of the display screen as user 202 experiences world 208, andthe dynamic changing of the content includes gradually replacing content206 to with other content of world 208 that is determined to be visiblefrom a viewpoint of user 202 within world 208 according to the detectedchange to the orientation of the display screen with respect to the atleast one axis.

To illustrate, FIG. 2 shows that content 206 may include real-worldscenery depicting a beach with palm trees and a surfboard. User 202 mayprovide user input to a media player device by which user 202 isexperiencing world 208 (e.g., one of media player devices 112) toindicate that user 202 wishes to look at content to the left of content206 currently included within field of view 204. For example, user 202may press a left navigation key on a keyboard, perform a swipe gestureto the right, or change the orientation of the display screen withrespect to a y-axis by rotating his or her head to the left whilewearing a head-mounted device. In response, the real-world scenery(i.e., the palm trees, the surfboard, etc.) may scroll to the rightacross field of view 204 to give user 202 a sensation that he or she isturning to look to the left in world 208. As content 206 scrolls off theright side of field of view 204, new content (not explicitly shown inFIG. 2) smoothly scrolls onto the left side of field of view 204. Inthis way, user 202 may provide user input to cause field of view 204 topresent any part of world 208 that user 202 desires.

In FIG. 2, world 208 is illustrated as a semi-sphere, indicating thatuser 202 may look in any direction that is substantially forward,backward, left, right, and/or up. However, if user 202 directs field ofview 204 down, world 208 may not include dynamic and/or real-worldscenery content to be presented within field of view 204. For example,if world 208 includes a dynamic immersive virtual reality world (i.e.,using a 360° video image), field of view 204 may present a still imagerepresentative of the ground of world 208. In other examples, field ofview 204 may present nothing (i.e., a black screen), a menu, one or morevirtual objects, or any other suitable image that may serve a particularimplementation. In other examples, world 208 may include an entire 360°by 180° sphere so that every direction in which user 202 may directfield of view 204 is associated with dynamic and/or real-world contentof world 208.

As shown in FIG. 2, world 208 may appear to surround a center point 210associated with user 202. In some embodiments, center point 210 maycorrespond to a location of a camera (e.g., camera 102) used to capturethe content of world 208 (e.g., including content 206). As such, centerpoint 210 may be static or may move through world 208 in a way that user202 is unable to control (e.g. moving through world 208 in a same manneras camera 102 moved through real-world scenery 104 during the creationof the virtual reality media content). In other embodiments, user 202may be able to provide input to modify where center point 210 is locatedwithin world 208. For example, user 202 may hop from one center point toanother (e.g., corresponding to where each of a plurality of 360°cameras captured 360° images) within world 208 or cause center point 210to move to an arbitrary position within world 208 (e.g., when avolumetric model of a scene of world 208 is provided). While centerpoint 210 is illustrated at the feet of user 202 for simplicity ofillustration, it will be understood that center point 210 may actuallybe located at the eye level of user 202.

As mentioned above, different types of media player devices may providedifferent experiences for user 202 by presenting field of view 204 ofworld 208 in different ways, by receiving user input from user 202 indifferent ways, and so forth. For example, as illustrated and describedabove with respect to media player device 112-3 in FIG. 1, one type ofmedia player device capable of providing a virtual reality experiencemay be a mobile computing device (e.g., a standalone device such as asmartphone, a tablet device, a music player, a digital reading device,etc.).

Mobile computing devices may include a display screen (e.g., a touchscreen that covers most or all of one side of the mobile computingdevice) that may be used to present an immersive virtual reality world(e.g., world 208). Mobile computing devices may incorporate certainadvantages of both dedicated head-mounted virtual reality devices (e.g.,such as head-mounted virtual reality device 112-1) and personal computerdevices (e.g., such as personal computer device 112-2) to provide alarge degree of versatility for experiencing world 208. Specifically,like personal computer devices, mobile computing devices may beextremely ubiquitous due to the fact that mobile computing devices maydo much more than only provide virtual reality experiences (i.e., mobilecomputing devices may be configured to run a large number ofnon-virtual-reality-related applications). As such, mobile computingdevices may potentially provide virtual reality access to many morepeople than dedicated head-mounted virtual reality devices.

At the same time, because many mobile computing devices are equippedwith motion sensors, directional sensors, orientation sensors, etc.,mobile computing devices may also be configured to provide user 202 withan immersive experience comparable to that provided by dedicatedhead-mounted virtual reality devices. For example, one or more mobilecomputing devices may provide (i.e., on separate screens if two mobilecomputing devices are physically and communicatively linked to oneanother, or on a single split screen in the case of a single mobilecomputing device) different versions (e.g., stereoscopic versions) offield of view 204 and/or may present content 206 to fill at least someof the peripheral vision of user 202 when the one or more mobilecomputing devices are mounted to the head of user 202 using a relativelyinexpensive virtual reality head mount (e.g., a commercially-availablecardboard head mount). In other embodiments, one or more mobilecomputing devices may facilitate experiencing world 208 by receivingmovement-based user input without the one or more mobile computingdevices being mounted to the head of user 202 (e.g., by acting as ahand-held dynamic window for looking around world 208, by receivingswipe gestures on a touchscreen, and/or by other techniques that mayserve a particular embodiment).

To illustrate, FIG. 3 shows exemplary configurations of mobile computingdevices and virtual reality head mounts used to present virtual realityexperiences to user 202. More particularly, on the left-hand side ofFIG. 3, a single mobile computing device configuration is illustrated inwhich a single mobile computing device 300 is used with a virtualreality head mount 302 configured to house the single mobile computingdevice during a virtual reality experience. Virtual reality head mount302 may include optics for facilitating the experiencing of world 208when mobile computing device 300 is seated within virtual reality headmount 302, as illustrated by lenses 304 (i.e., lenses 304-1 and 304-2for the left and right eyes of user 202, respectively).

As shown, mobile computing device 300 may present different versions offield of view 204 of world 208 on a split screen. Accordingly, onlyabout half of the total display resolution of mobile computing device300 may be available for presenting field of view 204 to each eye ofuser 202. Depending on the optics provided (e.g., by the focal length,respective positioning, etc., of lenses 304), the field of view providedby mobile computing device 300 within virtual reality head mount 302may, in certain examples, be limited to a total viewing anglesignificantly less than what user 202 can perceive (e.g., 60° to 90° ofviewing angle rather than up to 180° of viewing angle that user 202 maybe capable of perceiving with his or her full peripheral vision). Inother examples, the optics provided by virtual reality head mount 302may be configured to provide a wider viewing angle (e.g., greater than90° and/or even up to the full 180° that user 202 may be capable ofperceiving), but to do so, may distort and/or stretch the imagepresented on each half of the split screen of mobile computing device300 such that the image may appear to user 202 to be of a relatively lowquality (e.g., to be distorted, to have a low resolution, etc.).

In contrast, some or all of the limitations described above with respectto the single mobile computing device configuration may be remedied byusing a dual mobile computing device configuration illustrated on theright-hand side of FIG. 3. In this configuration, as shown, dual mobilecomputing devices 306 (e.g., mobile computing devices 306-1 and 306-2)are used with a dual virtual reality head mount 308 having a structureconfigured to house both mobile computing devices 306 in a dual-screenextended landscape configuration during a virtual reality experience.Similar to virtual reality head mount 302, virtual reality head mount308 may include optics for facilitating the experiencing of world 208when mobile computing devices 306 are seated within virtual reality headmount 308. Specifically, as shown, a first optical lens 310-1 may have afocal length configured to bring a display of mobile computing device306-1 into focus when mobile computing device 306-1 is housed within thestructure of virtual reality head mount 308 and when virtual realityhead mount 308 is mounted to the head of user 202. Similarly, a secondoptical lens 310-2 (referred to collectively with optical lens 310-1 as“optical lenses 310” or “lenses 310”) may have a focal length configuredto bring a display of mobile computing device 306-2 into focus whenmobile computing device 306-2 is housed within the structure of virtualreality head mount 308 and when virtual reality head mount 308 ismounted to the head of user 202.

Unlike with mobile computing device 300, however, mobile computingdevices 306 may not use split screens to present different versions offield of view 204 of world 208, but, rather, may dedicate an entirescreen (or nearly an entire screen) to present a version of field ofview 204. Accordingly, in the dual mobile computing deviceconfiguration, the total display resolution of one mobile computingdevice 306 may be dedicated to each eye of user 202 for presenting fieldof view 204. As such, the optics of virtual reality head mount 308(e.g., the focal length, respective positioning, etc., of lenses 310)may be configured to present field of view 204 at a total viewing angleat least as large as the viewing angle that user 202 is capable ofperceiving with his or her full peripheral vision (e.g., up to 180° ofviewing angle). However, with the dual mobile computing deviceconfiguration of mobile computing devices 306 and virtual reality headmount 308, field of view 204 may be presented at approximately the full180° viewing angle without distorting and/or stretching the image to thesame degree as may be necessary with the single mobile computing deviceconfiguration described above. Accordingly, user 202 may enjoy a higherresolution rendering of field of view 204 while also being more immersedinto world 208 by a larger viewing angle filling a larger percentage ofthe peripheral vision of user 202.

In certain examples, virtual reality head mount 308 may be curved,angled, or otherwise offset (not explicitly shown in FIG. 3) in order tocontour to the head of user 202 when mounted, to house mobile computingdevices 306 at an angle relative to one another that facilitates thepresentation of the large viewing angle of field of view 204, toincrease the comfort of user 202 when virtual reality head mount 308 ismounted to the head of user 202, and/or to otherwise enhance the virtualreality experience for user 202.

In order to physically and communicatively link mobile computing devices306 to enhance the virtual reality experience of user 202 as describedabove, a link 312 between mobile computing devices 306 may be used. Forexample, as will be described in more detail below, link 312 mayrepresent a physical and/or a communicative link between mobilecomputing devices 306. As such, link 312 may facilitate a positioning ofmobile computing devices 306 in front of respective eyes of user 202 inthe dual-screen extended landscape configuration for the enhancedpresentation of the virtual reality experience to user 202. Additionallyor alternatively, link 312 may provide a data transfer link betweenmobile computing devices 306 over which data (e.g., data associated witha virtual-reality-related application running on mobile computingdevices 306) may be transferred to enable the enhanced presentation ofthe virtual reality experience to user 202.

More particularly, link 312 may include or be implemented by a mobilecomputing device linking apparatus that includes a first data transferconnector plug associated with a first digital data transfer protocoland configured to mate with a first data transfer connector receptacleof mobile computing device 306-1, a second data transfer connector plugassociated with a second digital data transfer protocol and configuredto mate with a second data transfer connector receptacle of mobilecomputing device 306-2, and a housing that houses the first and seconddata transfer connector plugs and that is configured to facilitate apositioning of mobile computing devices 306 in front of respective eyesof user 202 in the dual-screen extended landscape configuration for theenhanced presentation of the virtual reality experience to user 202. Forexample, the housing may facilitate the positioning of mobile computingdevices 306 by allowing the first and second data transfer connectorplugs to mate with the first and second data transfer connectorreceptacles, respectively, only when mobile computing devices 306 arephysically adjacent to one another (e.g., such as to be housed togetherin the dual-screen extended landscape configuration within virtualreality head mount 308). The linking apparatus included by orimplementing link 312 may further include a plurality of conductorselectrically coupling the first data transfer connector plug with thesecond data transfer connector plug to provide, when the first andsecond data transfer connector plugs are mated with the first and seconddata transfer connector receptacles, respectively, a data transfer linkbetween mobile computing devices 306 over which data associated with thefirst and second instances of the virtual-reality-related application istransferred in accordance with the first and second digital datatransfer protocols to enable the enhanced presentation of the virtualreality experience to user 202 when mobile computing devices 306 arepositioned in front of the respective eyes of user 202 in thedual-screen extended landscape configuration.

To illustrate, FIG. 4 shows an exemplary mobile computing device linkingapparatus 400 for physically and communicatively linking mobilecomputing devices to enhance virtual reality experiences. As shown,linking apparatus 400 includes first and second data transfer connectorplugs 402 (e.g., data transfer connector plugs 402-1 and 402-2), aplurality of conductors 404 that electrically couples data transferconnector plugs 402 with one another, a signal control block 406 bywhich electrical signals carried on conductors 404 may be routed,processed, etc., and a housing 408 that houses or otherwise holdstogether some or all of the other components of linking apparatus 400mentioned above (i.e., data transfer connector plugs 402, conductors404, signal control block 406) in any way as may serve a particularimplementation. Each of the components of linking apparatus 400 will bedescribed in more detail below.

In certain examples, as illustrated in FIG. 4, linking apparatus 400 maybe a standalone apparatus. For example, linking apparatus 400 may beused without a corresponding virtual reality head mount (e.g., such asvirtual reality head mount 308) and/or may be used with a virtualreality head mount but may be manufactured and distributed (e.g., sold,purchased, etc.) independently of the virtual reality head mount. Inother examples, all or part of linking apparatus 400 may be integratedinto (e.g., built into, manufactured and/or distributed with, etc.) acorresponding virtual reality head mount. Specifically, any or all ofdata transfer connector plug 402, housing 404, conductors 406, and/orsignal control block 408 may be integrated into a virtual reality headmount such as virtual reality head mount 308, described above. Forexample, all of these components of linking apparatus 400 may be builtinto virtual reality head mount 308 during the manufacturing process ofvirtual reality head mount 308 (e.g., within or as part of the structureconfigured to house mobile computing devices 306, as described above)and may be distributed (e.g., sold, purchased, etc.) together withvirtual reality head mount 308.

Data transfer connector plugs 402 may each be associated with a digitaldata transfer protocol, and, as such, may each be configured to matewith a data transfer connector receptacle (e.g., a data transferconnector receptacle included on a mobile computing device) associatedwith the same the digital data transfer protocol. For example, thedigital data transfer protocols that each of data transfer connectorplugs 402 are associated with may include any variant of the UniversalSerial Bus (“USB”) digital data transfer protocol (e.g., USB 1.0, USB2.0, USB 3.0, USB 3.1, etc.), any variant of a proprietary digital datatransfer protocol (e.g., variants of the LIGHTNING or THUNDERBOLTdigital data transfer protocols used by APPLE-brand mobile computingdevices, etc.), an HDMI digital data transfer protocol, an IEEE 1394(“FIREWIRE”) protocol, an Ethernet protocol, and/or any other digitaldata transfer protocol as may serve a particular implementation.Accordingly, the data transfer connector plugs and data transferconnector receptacles may be any suitable variant of a USB connectorplug or connector receptacle (e.g., TypeA connectors, TypeB connectors,TypeC connectors, SuperSpeed connectors, MiniA connectors, MiniBconnectors, MicroA connectors, MicroB connectors, etc.), any suitablevariant of a proprietary connector plug or connector receptacle(variants of LIGHTNING connectors, 30-pin connectors used by APPLEmobile computing devices, etc.), an HDMI connector plug or connectorreceptacle, and/or any other connector plugs or connector receptacles asmay serve a particular implementation.

In certain examples, the digital data transfer protocols associated withboth data transfer connector plugs 402 may be the same. For example,both mobile computing devices being linked by linking apparatus 400 maybe identical brands and/or models of mobile computing device (e.g., bothmay be APPLE iPHONE smartphones, both may be SAMSUNG GALAXY Ssmartphones, etc.), such that both mobile computing devices areassociated with the same digital data transfer protocol (e.g., both areassociated with the LIGHTNING digital data transfer protocol, both areassociated with the USB digital data transfer protocol, etc.) and bothhave identical data transfer connector receptacles (e.g., both haveLIGHTNING data transfer connector receptacles, both have micro USB datatransfer connector receptacles, etc.). Accordingly, both data transferconnector plugs 402 may similarly be the same type of data transferconnector plug (e.g., both may be LIGHTNING data transfer connectorplugs, both may be micro USB data transfer connector plugs, etc.).

In other examples, the mobile computing devices linked by linkingapparatus 400 may be different models, different brands, and/ordifferent types of mobile computing device (e.g., one mobile computingdevice may be an APPLE iPHONE smartphone while the other mobilecomputing device may be a SAMSUNG GALAXY S smartphone). Accordingly, incertain examples, data transfer connector plugs 402 may be differenttypes of data transfer connector plugs (e.g., data transfer connectorplug 402-1 may be a LIGHTNING data transfer connector plug while datatransfer connector plug 402-2 may be a micro USB data transfer connectorplug) in order to properly mate with the respective data transferconnector receptacles in each of the different mobile computing devices.

Conductors 404 may be configured to electrically couple data transferconnector plug 402-1 with data transfer connector plug 402-2, as shown.Accordingly, when data transfer connector plugs 402 are each mated withrespective data transfer connector receptacles of respective mobilecomputing devices, conductors 404 may provide a data transfer linkbetween the mobile computing devices. As will be described in moredetail below, each of the mobile computing devices may be running arespective instance of a virtual-reality-related application, and dataassociated with the instances of the virtual-reality-related applicationmay be transferred over the data transfer link provided by conductors404 in accordance with the respective digital data transfer protocolsassociated with each data transfer connector plug 402. For example, ifboth mobile computing devices use a USB 3.1 digital data transferprotocol and both data transfer connector plugs 402 are the same variantof USB connector plug (e.g., Type-C connector plugs), the conductors mayprovide a USB 3.1 data transfer link between the mobile computingdevices over which data associated with the instances of thevirtual-reality-related application may be transferred in order toenable the enhanced presentation of the virtual reality experience tothe user (e.g., when the first and second mobile computing devices arepositioned in front of the respective eyes of the user in thedual-screen extended landscape configuration).

Additional examples and detail about data that may be transferred overthe data transfer link to enable the enhanced presentation of thevirtual reality experience, including architectures that may besupported by the data transfer link and/or employed by the instances ofthe virtual-reality-related application, will be described below.

Signal control block 406 may route, connect, switch, or otherwiseprovide electrical paths between conductors 404 connected with datatransfer connector plug 402-1 and conductors 404 connected with datatransfer connector plug 402-2. For example, signal control block 406 mayprovide electrical paths between power conductors from both datatransfer connector plugs 402, ground conductors from both data transferconnector plugs 402, data conductors (e.g., differential signalingconductor pairs) from both data transfer connector plugs 402, and/or anyother electrical paths as may serve a particular implementation. Morespecifically, signal control block 406 may route conductors (e.g.,differential signaling conductor pairs) for transmitting data comingfrom data transfer connector plug 402-1 with conductors (e.g.,differential signaling conductor pairs) for receiving data coming fromdata transfer connector plug 402-2. Similarly, signal control block 406may also route conductors for receiving data coming from data transferconnector plug 402-1 with conductors for transmitting data coming fromdata transfer connector plug 402-2.

Moreover, in certain examples, signal control block 406 may also includeor implement logic or computer-readable instructions for receiving,analyzing, converting, transmitting, and/or otherwise processingelectrical signals on conductors 404. For example, in implementationswhere data transfer connector plugs are associated with differentdigital data transfer protocols and/or configured to mate with datatransfer connector receptacles of different types of mobile computingdevices, signal control block 406 may be implemented by or may include adigital processing chip configured to convert data being transferred inaccordance with one digital data transfer protocol (e.g., the digitaldata transfer protocol associated with data transfer connector plug402-1) into data transferred in accordance with a different digital datatransfer protocol (e.g., the digital data transfer protocol associatedwith data transfer connector plug 402-2). Accordingly, for instance, ifdata transfer connector plug 402-1 is a LIGHTNING data transferconnector plug configured to mate with a mobile computing device thatuses a LIGHTNING digital data transfer protocol, and data transferconnector plug 402-2 is a micro USB data transfer connector plugconfigured to mate with a mobile computing device that uses a variant ofa USB digital data transfer protocol, signal control block 406 mayinclude a digital processing chip that converts LIGHTNING signaling intoUSB signaling and vice versa.

Housing 408 may house (e.g., contain, hold together, etc.) one or moreof the components of linking apparatus 400 described above (e.g., datatransfer connector plugs 402, conductors 404, signal control block 406,etc.). As such, housing 408 may be configured to facilitate apositioning of the mobile computing devices (e.g., mobile computingdevices 306) mated to respective data transfer connector plugs 402 infront of respective eyes of the user in the dual-screen extendedlandscape configuration (e.g., for the enhanced presentation of thevirtual reality experience to the user) by allowing data transferconnector plugs 402 to mate with the respective data transfer connectorreceptacles of the mobile computing devices only when the mobilecomputing devices are physically adjacent to one another.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary configuration 500 in which linkingapparatus 400 is used to physically and communicatively link mobilecomputing devices 306 to enhance a virtual reality experience (e.g., foruser 202, as described above). As shown, mobile computing devices 306are positioned in a dual-screen extended landscape configuration (i.e.,mobile computing devices 306 are positioned adjacent to one another withrespective data transfer connector receptacles 502 facing inward towardone another and both screens facing in substantially the same directionin landscape orientations). Accordingly, with mobile computing devices306 in the dual-screen extended landscape configuration, the housing 408of linking apparatus 400 allows the first and second data transferconnector plugs of linking apparatus 400 (i.e., data transfer connectorplugs 402) to mate with first and second data transfer connectorreceptacles 502 (i.e., data transfer connector receptacles 502-1 and502-2, respectively). In certain examples, housing 408 of linkingapparatus 400 may allow the mating of data transfer connector plugs 402with data transfer connector receptacles 502 only when mobile computingdevices 306 are in a dual-screen extended landscape configuration. Inother examples, housing 408 may allow the mating of data transferconnector plugs 402 with data transfer connector receptacles 502 as longas mobile computing devices 306 are physically adjacent to one another,even if mobile computing devices 306 are not necessarily in thedual-screen extended landscape configuration.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, each mobile computing device 306 may bepositioned at an angle 504 with respect to a line bisecting thedual-screen extended landscape configuration of mobile computing devices306. As shown, the line may bisect the dual-screen extended landscapeconfiguration symmetrically between mobile computing devices 306 suchthat angle 504 of each mobile computing device 306 is the same withrespect to the line. In certain examples, angle 504 for each mobilecomputing device 306 may be approximately 90°, such that mobilecomputing devices 306 are coplanar. In other examples (e.g., such as theexample illustrated in FIG. 5), angle 504 may be less than 90° (e.g.,between approximately 45° and 90°) such that mobile computing devices306 are angled inwardly. With an angle less than 90°, mobile computingdevices 306 may better contour around a head of user 202 when the mobilecomputing devices are in front of the respective eyes of the user forthe enhanced presentation of the virtual reality experience.Accordingly, a material used to construct housing 408 may facilitate thepositioning of mobile computing devices 306 in the dual-screen extendedlandscape configuration by permitting and/or preventing adjustment ofangle 504 in various ways.

To illustrate, FIG. 6 shows exemplary mobile computing device linkingapparatuses 600 (e.g., linking apparatuses 600-1, 600-2, and 600-3) thateach include housings 602 (e.g., housings 602-1, 602-2, and 602-3,respectively) constructed of various materials and/or with variousfeatures for facilitating the positioning of mobile computing devices(e.g., mobile computing devices 306) in various ways. The materials andfeatures with which housings 602 of linking apparatuses 600 areconstructed will now be described in more detail. However, it will beunderstood that the general structure, form, and appearance of linkingapparatuses 600 and each respective housing 602 illustrated in FIG. 6may be exemplary only. Linking apparatuses 600 may include various otherstructures, forms, and/or appearances (i.e., different from those shownin FIG. 6) as may serve a particular implementation. For example,linking apparatuses 600 may be larger or smaller than shown, may have anappearance or form more closely resembling a cable, or the like.

Housing 602-1 of linking apparatus 600-1 is drawn in FIG. 6 to be thinand wavy to illustrate that housing 602-1 may be constructed of areshapable material that permits a user adjustment (e.g., an adjustmentimposed by user 202) of angle 504 between mobile computing devices 306during the enhanced presentation of the virtual reality experience touser 202 when the first and second mobile computing devices arepositioned in front of the respective eyes of user 202 in thedual-screen extended landscape configuration. The reshapable material ofwhich housing 602-1 is constructed may be plastically deformable, suchthat, when user 202 performs the user adjustment of angle 504 (e.g., byapplying a force to at least one of mobile computing devices 306),housing 602-1 may have little or no elastic tendency to “snap back” toan angle 504 other than the angle 504 imposed by user 202 by way of theuser adjustment. Accordingly, in certain examples, housing 602-1 may bevery flexible (i.e., “floppy”) to allow plastic deformation with verylittle force applied to adjust angle 504 between the mobile computingdevices. In other examples, housing 602-1 may be quite inflexible (i.e.,rigid or stiff) to allow plastic deformation only when a moresignificant force is applied to adjust angle 504.

In contrast, housing 602-2 of linking apparatus 600-2 is drawn in FIG. 6to be thick with straight lines to illustrate that housing 602-1 may beconstructed of a non-reshapable material that prevents the useradjustment (e.g., imposed by user 202) of angle 504 between mobilecomputing devices 306 during the enhanced presentation of the virtualreality experience to user 202 when the first and second mobilecomputing devices are positioned in front of the respective eyes of user202 in the dual-screen extended landscape configuration. Morespecifically, the non-reshapable material of which housing 602-2 isconstructed may be essentially unbendable (e.g., non-deformable) or maybe elastically deformable such that, if user 202 attempts to perform auser adjustment of angle 504 (e.g., by applying a force to at least oneof mobile computing devices 306), housing 602-2 may have an elastictendency to “snap back” to an angle 504 at which housing 602-2 ispermanently biased (i.e., an angle other than the angle 504 that user202 tried to impose by way of the attempted user adjustment).Accordingly, in certain examples, housing 602-2 may be relativelyflexible to allow elastic deformation with relatively little forceapplied to temporarily adjust angle 504 between the mobile computingdevices before angle 504 elastically snaps back to the original angle504 when the force is removed. In other examples, housing 602-2 may berelatively inflexible to prevent all or nearly all deformation ofhousing 602-2.

As yet another example, housing 602-3 of linking apparatus 600-3 isshown in FIG. 6 to include an additional angle-locking feature 604 notincluded in linking apparatuses 600-1 and 600-2. Housing 602-3 may beconstructed of any material as may serve a particular implementation.For example, as illustrated by the relative thickness and straight linesof housing 602-3, housing 602-3 may be constructed of a non-reshapablematerial similar to or the same as the non-reshapable material ofhousing 602-2. As such, like housing 602-2, housing 602-3 may normally(e.g., when angle-locking feature 604 is engaged) prevent any permanentuser adjustment of angle 504. However, in contrast with housing 602-2,which may always prevent permanent user adjustments from a pre-biasedangle 504 built into housing 602-2, housing 602-3 may further includeangle-locking feature 604, which may be released to allow a permanent(or semi-permanent) user adjustment to angle 504. Angle-locking feature604 may take any form as may serve a particular implementation. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 6, angle-locking feature 604 may includea screw that may engage angle-locking feature 604 (i.e., therebysemi-permanently locking angle 504 and preventing user adjustment ofangle 504 by applying force to mobile computing devices 306) whentightened down, and that may release angle-locking feature 604 (i.e.,thereby unlocking angle 504 to allow user adjustment of angle 504 byapplying force to mobile computing devices 306) when loosened. In otherexamples, angle-locking feature 604 may not include a screw, but may useother mechanical mechanisms to allow a user to engage and/or releaseangle-locking feature 604.

As described above, in certain examples, various components of a linkingapparatus (e.g., the transfer connector plugs, the housing configured tofacilitate the positioning of the first and second mobile computingdevices, the plurality of conductors electrically coupling the datatransfer connector plugs to provide the data transfer link, etc.) may beintegrated into a virtual reality head mount that includes a structureconfigured to house the mobile computing devices in the dual-screenextended landscape configuration, and optical lenses having respectivefocal lengths configured to bring respective displays of the mobilecomputing devices into focus when the mobile computing devices arehoused within the structure and the virtual reality head mount ismounted to a head of the user. For example, as described above linkingapparatus 400 may be partially or full integrated into virtual realityhead mount 308.

In addition or as an alternative to the support that a virtual realityhead mount may provide for positioning the mobile computing devices inthe dual-screen extended landscape configuration, a housing of a linkingapparatus may similarly provide physical support (e.g., by a physicalsupport structure) to facilitate the positioning of the mobile computingdevices in the dual-screen extended landscape configuration. Forexample, a housing of a linking apparatus configured to facilitate thepositioning of first and second mobile computing devices may include afirst structural element configured to seat the first mobile computingdevice in the dual-screen extended landscape configuration when thefirst data transfer connector plug is mated with the first data transferconnector receptacle, and a second structural element configured to seatthe second mobile computing device in the dual-screen extended landscapeconfiguration when the second data transfer connector plug is mated withthe second data transfer connector receptacle.

To illustrate, FIG. 7 shows an exemplary mobile computing device linkingapparatus 700 with a housing that includes exemplary structural elements702 (e.g., structural elements 702-1 and 702-2) for seating mobilecomputing devices in a dual-screen extended landscape configuration whenrespective data transfer connector receptacles of mobile computingdevices (not shown in FIG. 7) are mated with corresponding data transferconnector plugs 704 (e.g., data transfer connector plugs 704-1 and704-2) of linking apparatus 700. More specifically, a first mobilecomputing device (e.g., mobile computing device 306-1) may be physicallyheld, supported, or otherwise seated into the dual-screen extendedlandscape configuration by structural element 702-1 when a data transferconnector receptacle of the first mobile computing device (e.g., datatransfer connector receptacle 502-1) is mated with data transferconnector plug 704-1 of linking apparatus 700. Similarly, a secondmobile computing device (e.g., mobile computing device 306-2) may bephysically held, supported, or otherwise seated into the dual-screenextended landscape configuration by structural element 702-2 when a datatransfer connector receptacle of the second mobile computing device(e.g., data transfer connector receptacle 502-2) is mated with datatransfer connector plug 704-2 of linking apparatus 700.

Accordingly, linking apparatus 700 (i.e., the housing of linkingapparatus 700, including structural elements 702) may facilitate thepositioning of the first and second mobile computing devices in thedual-screen extended landscape configuration with or without additionalsupport from, for example, a virtual reality head mount such as virtualreality head mount 308. Additionally, linking apparatus 700 (i.e., ahousing of linking apparatus 700) may allow and/or prevent useradjustment of an angle between the first and second mobile computingdevices during an enhanced presentation of a virtual reality experiencein any way as may serve a particular implementation (e.g., in accordancewith any of the ways described above in relation to linking apparatuses600 of FIG. 6).

In certain examples, mobile computing devices running instances of avirtual-reality-related application may use relatively large amounts ofpower and/or may require relatively large amounts of data. For example,a mobile computing device may rely on battery power provided by abattery (e.g., a built-in rechargeable battery) with a limited capacityand may rely on downloaded data (e.g., real-time downloaded data) ratherthan data previously stored in a local storage facility of the mobilecomputing device. As such, supplying sufficient power and/or data (e.g.,virtual reality media content data) to a mobile computing device duringthe presentation of a virtual reality experience to a user, particularlywhen the virtual reality experience is an enhanced or an extendedvirtual reality experience, may present a challenge. Thus, in certainexamples, linking apparatuses may include additional features tofacilitate the supplying of sufficient power and/or data to the mobilecomputing devices in order to allow for enhanced and/or extended virtualreality experiences to be presented to a user.

To illustrate, FIG. 8 shows exemplary mobile computing device linkingapparatuses 800 (e.g., linking apparatuses 800-1 and 800-2) that includeauxiliary connectors to facilitate providing power and/or data to mobilecomputing devices (e.g., during the presentation of a virtual realityexperience). In FIG. 8, both linking apparatuses 800 are shown toinclude respective data transfer connector plugs 802 (e.g., datatransfer connector plugs 802-1 and 802-2), and respective housings 804.Data transfer connector plugs 802 and housing 804 of each linkingapparatus 800 may be similar or identical to other data transferconnector plugs and/or housings of other linking apparatuses describedherein (e.g., data transfer connector plug 402 and housing 408 oflinking apparatus 400). Additionally, while other elements of linkingapparatuses 800 are not explicitly shown in FIG. 8, it will beunderstood that linking apparatuses 800 may similarly include respectiveconductors, signal control blocks, structural elements and/or any otherelements described herein or as may serve a particular implementation.

In contrast to previous linking apparatuses described above, however,linking apparatuses 800 may each include an auxiliary connector 806(e.g., auxiliary connector receptacle 806-1 in the case of linkingapparatus 800-1, and auxiliary connector plug 806-2 in the case oflinking apparatus 800-2). Auxiliary connectors 806 may each beelectrically coupled (e.g., by way of a plurality of conductors, notexplicitly shown) to at least one of data transfer connector plugs 802-1and 802-2. Accordingly, when data transfer connector plugs 802 are matedwith respective connector receptacles of mobile computing devices,auxiliary connectors 806 may each be configured to provide a powerconnection by which external power may be provided to at least one ofthe mobile computing devices (e.g., in order to power and/or charge abattery of the mobile computing device or devices). Additionally oralternatively, auxiliary connectors 806 may provide another datatransfer link (e.g., in addition to the data transfer link provided bythe plurality of conductors between data transfer connector plugs 802)by which additional data associated with at least one instance of avirtual-reality-related application running on one of the mobilecomputing devices may be transferred in accordance with an appropriatedigital data transfer protocol (i.e., a digital data transfer protocolcorresponding to the mobile computing device or devices to which data isbeing transferred). For example, rather than downloading virtual realitymedia content data using a wireless interface, in certain examples, oneor more of the mobile computing devices may download virtual realitymedia content data using a wired interface by way of the other datatransfer link provided by linking apparatuses 800 through auxiliaryconnectors 806.

Auxiliary connector 806 may take any form or appearance as may serve aparticular implementation. For example, as illustrated by linkingapparatus 800-1, auxiliary connector 806-1 may be an auxiliary connectorreceptacle. Conversely, as illustrated by linking apparatus 800-2,auxiliary connector 806-2 may be an auxiliary connector plug.Additionally, auxiliary connector 806 may be placed in any locationwithin the housing of linking apparatus 800.

As described above, linking apparatuses may include pluralities ofconductors electrically coupling data transfer connector plugs includedon the linking apparatuses such that, when the data transfer connectorplugs are mated with respective data transfer connector receptacles ofmobile computing devices (e.g., mobile computing devices positioned in adual-screen extended landscape configuration), a data transfer linkbetween the mobile computing devices may be provided over which data maybe transferred. In certain examples, the data transferred over the datalink may be data associated with first and second instances of avirtual-reality-related application that enables an enhancedpresentation of a virtual reality experience to a user when the mobilecomputing devices are positioned in front of the respective eyes of theuser in the dual-screen extended landscape configuration.

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary configuration 900 in which exemplary instancesof a virtual-reality-related application running on mobile computingdevices physically and communicatively linked together by an exemplarymobile computing device linking apparatus provide an enhanced virtualreality experience by communicating over a data transfer link providedby the linking apparatus. Specifically, FIG. 9 shows a first mobilecomputing device 902-1 and a second mobile computing device 902-2(collectively referred to as mobile computing devices 902) that may eachbe similar to other mobile computing devices described herein. Forexample, mobile computing devices 902 may be smartphones or other typesof mobile computing devices of the same or different brands and models.

As shown, mobile computing devices 902 may be communicatively coupled toa virtual reality content provider system 904 by way of a network 906.For example, content provider system 904 may be a server remote frommobile computing devices 902 (e.g., similar to backend system 108 ofFIG. 1) that provides virtual reality media content representative ofimmersive virtual reality worlds (e.g., such as world 208 of FIG. 2) tomedia player devices (e.g., such as mobile computing devices 902) inorder to present users of the media player devices with a virtualreality experience. Network 906 may include any type or types ofnetworks and/or network technologies (e.g., a cellular provider network,the Internet, etc.), as described above with respect to network 110 inFIG. 1.

Running on respective mobile computing devices 902, either or both of afirst instance 908-1 and a second instance 908-2 of avirtual-reality-related application (collectively referred to asinstances 908 of the virtual-reality-related application) maycommunicate with content provider system 904 by way of a connection tonetwork 906 provided by respective network interfaces 910 (e.g., networkinterface 910-1 in the case of instance 908-1 of thevirtual-reality-related application and network 910-2 in the case ofinstance 908-2 of the virtual-reality-related application). For example,network interfaces 910 may be wireless network interfaces and theconnection between network interfaces 910 and network 906 may be awireless (e.g., cellular data) connection. By way of network 906 andnetwork interfaces 910, either or both instances 908 of thevirtual-reality-related application may download virtual reality mediacontent from content provider system 904 to allow instances 908 topresent the virtual reality media content to a user experiencing animmersive virtual reality world.

In order to enhance the virtual reality experience (e.g., by presentingthe virtual reality experience on both mobile computing devices 902 in adual-screen extended landscape configuration to extend the viewing angleof the field of view for the user, etc.), instances 908 of thevirtual-reality-related application may also communicate with oneanother. In particular, instances 908 may transfer data over a datatransfer link 912 provided by conductors of a linking apparatus 914 towhich mobile computing devices 902 are both connected. For example,instances 908 of the virtual-reality-related application may transferdata over data transfer link 912 in accordance with respective digitaldata transfer protocols (e.g., USB, LIGHTNING, etc.) based on whatevertype of digital data transfer protocol each mobile computing device 902is associated with. For example, mobile computing device 902-1 mayinclude a data transfer interface 916-1 that is associated with a firstdigital data transfer protocol, while mobile computing device 902-2 mayinclude a data transfer interface 916-2 that is associated with a seconddigital data transfer protocol (e.g., the same as or different from thefirst digital data transfer protocol).

Instances 908 of the virtual-reality-related application running onmobile computing devices 902 may transfer any data as may serve aparticular implementation to enhance the presentation of a virtualreality experience for a user in front of whose eyes mobile computingdevices 902 are positioned. For example, in certain implementations,instances 908 may employ, and data transfer link 912 may support, aprimary-secondary architecture (e.g., also referred to as a“master-slave” architecture) in which video data for the enhancedpresentation of the virtual reality experience is transmitted by contentprovider system 904 to only a primary instance 908 of thevirtual-reality-related application (i.e., instance 908-1 in thisexample). In other words, in this example, content provider system 904may not transmit video data for the enhanced virtual reality experienceto instance 908-2 of the virtual-reality-related application running onmobile computing device 902-2. Accordingly, the data transferred overdata transfer link 912 in accordance with the first and second digitaldata transfer protocols to enable the enhanced presentation of thevirtual reality experience in this example may include the video databeing transferred, by the primary instance of thevirtual-reality-related application (i.e., instance 908-1), to asecondary instance of the virtual-reality-related application over thedata transfer link (i.e., instance 908-2).

In this way, both instances 908 of the virtual-reality-relatedapplication may access video data needed for the enhanced presentationof the virtual reality experience to the user. The primary instance(i.e., instance 908-1) receives all the video data directly from contentprovider system 904 (e.g., by way of network 906 and network interface910-1), while the secondary instance (i.e., instance 908-2) receives thevideo data from the primary instance (e.g., by way of data transfer link912 and data transfer interfaces 916). In some examples, the secondaryinstance may receive all the video data (e.g., the same data that theprimary instance received from content provider system 904, which mayinclude stereoscopic versions of the video data for each eye), while, inother examples, the secondary instance may receive only video data thatthe secondary mobile computing device (i.e., mobile computing device902-2 in this example) is to display for the enhanced presentation ofthe virtual reality experience.

A particular instance 908 of the virtual-reality-related application maybe selected to act as the primary instance in the primary-secondaryscheme in any way as may serve a particular implementation. For example,instance 908-1 may be selected to act as the primary instance in theprimary-secondary architecture and instance 908-2 may be selected to actas the secondary instance in the primary-secondary architecture based ona determination that mobile computing device 902-1 has performancecapabilities (e.g., processor speed, memory or storage capabilities,etc.) superior to mobile computing device 902-2, a determination thatinstance 908-1 was launched prior to instance 908-2, a detection thatthe user selects (e.g., via a user selection mechanism presented in auser interface on one or more of mobile computing devices 902) instance908-1 as the primary instance of the virtual-reality-relatedapplication, and/or a random selection of instance 908-1 as the primaryinstance of the virtual-reality-related application.

In other examples, rather than a primary-secondary architecture,instances 908 of the virtual-reality-related application may employ, anddata transfer link 912 may support, a peer-to-peer architecture in whichvideo data for the enhanced presentation of the virtual realityexperience is transmitted by content provider system 904 to bothinstances 908 of the virtual-reality-related application. As such, thedata transferred over data transfer link 912 in accordance with thefirst and second digital data transfer protocols to enable the enhancedpresentation of the virtual reality experience may includesynchronization data being exchanged between mobile computing devices902 over data transfer link 912. For example, video synchronizationinformation (e.g., horizontal synchronization information, verticalsynchronization information, etc.) and/or other types of informationfacilitating the synchronization and/or cooperation of mobile computingdevices 902 in presenting the enhanced virtual reality experience may betransferred as may serve a particular implementation. It will beunderstood that synchronization information and other suitable types ofinformation may also be transferred over data transfer link 912 (e.g.,along with the video data) in implementations where theprimary-secondary architecture is employed.

Also communicatively coupled with instances 908 of thevirtual-reality-related application in FIG. 9 are respective sensors 918(e.g., sensor 918-1 in mobile computing device 902-1 and sensor 918-2 inmobile computing device 902-2). Sensors 918 may each include one or moredifferent types of spatial or movement sensors (e.g., positionalsensors, orientational sensors, acceleration sensors, etc.) used bymobile computing devices 902 to determine where mobile computing devices902 are in space, how mobile computing devices 902 are oriented orpositioned in space, whether and/or to what extent mobile computingdevices 902 are moving through space, and the like. Such sensors may beused by mobile computing devices 902 while presenting a virtual realityexperience to a user to detect user input (e.g., to determine whichdirection the user wishes to look, which way the user wants to move,etc.). However, as mentioned above, sensor data from just one sensor (orset of sensors) 918 from just one mobile computing device 902 may beless accurate and/or reliable than when measurements from sensors (orsets of sensors) 918 from both mobile computing devices 902 arecombined, averaged, and/or otherwise used together.

Accordingly, in some examples, the data transferred over data transferlink 912 in accordance with the first and second digital data transferprotocols to enable the enhanced presentation of the virtual realityexperience may further include sensor data representative of at leastone of a position, a movement, and an orientation of mobile computingdevice 902-1 as detected by sensor 918-1 included within mobilecomputing device 902-1 and transmitted by instance 908-1 of thevirtual-reality-related application to instance 908-2 of thevirtual-reality-related application. The sensor data detected by sensor918-1 may be used to generate improved sensor data that is based on acombination of the sensor data detected by sensor 918-1 andcorresponding sensor data detected by sensor 918-2 included withinmobile computing device 902-2. Similar to the sensor data detected bysensor 918-1, the corresponding sensor data detected by sensor 918-2 mayrepresent of at least one of a position, a movement, and an orientationof mobile computing device 902-2, and may correspond to the at least oneof the position, the movement, and the orientation of mobile computingdevice 902-1 as detected by sensor 918-1. Accordingly, the improvedsensor data may be used by either or both instances 908 of thevirtual-reality-related application to present the enhanced virtualreality experience to the user.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary method 1000 for physically andcommunicatively linking mobile computing devices to enhance virtualreality experiences. While FIG. 10 illustrates exemplary operationsaccording to one embodiment, other embodiments may omit, add to,reorder, and/or modify any of the operations shown in FIG. 10. One ormore of the operations shown in FIG. 10 may be performed by linkingapparatus 400 (or components thereof) and/or by any another suitablemobile computing device linking apparatus (or components thereof) suchas those described herein.

In operation 1002, a first data transfer connector plug included on amobile computing device linking apparatus may mate with a first datatransfer connector receptacle of a first mobile computing device. Thefirst data transfer connector plug may be associated with a firstdigital data transfer protocol. Additionally, the first mobile computingdevice may be configured to run a first instance of avirtual-reality-related application and to run one or morenon-virtual-reality-related applications. Operation 1002 may beperformed in any of the ways described herein.

In operation 1004, a second data transfer connector plug included on themobile computing device linking apparatus may mate with a second datatransfer connector receptacle of a second mobile computing device. Thesecond data transfer connector plug may be associated with a seconddigital data transfer protocol (e.g., the same or a different digitaldata transfer protocol as the first digital data transfer protocol).Additionally, the second mobile computing device may be configured torun a second instance of the virtual-reality-related application and,like the first mobile computing device, to also run one or morenon-virtual-reality-related applications. Operation 1004 may beperformed in any of the ways described herein.

In operation 1006, a housing of the mobile computing device linkingapparatus that houses the first and second data transfer connector plugsmay facilitate a positioning of the first and second mobile computingdevices in front of respective eyes of a user in a dual-screen extendedlandscape configuration for an enhanced presentation of a virtualreality experience to the user. Operation 1006 may be performed in anyof the ways described herein. For example, the housing may facilitatethe positioning of the mobile computing devices in response to (e.g.,based upon) the mating of the first and second data transfer connectorplugs in operations 1002 and 1004, respectively, with the respectivefirst and second data transfer connector receptacles. Operation 1006 maybe performed by allowing operations 1002 and 1004 to be performed onlywhen the first and second mobile computing devices are physicallyadjacent to one another.

In operation 1008, a plurality of conductors of the mobile computingdevice linking apparatus may provide a data transfer link between thefirst and second mobile computing devices over which data associatedwith the first and second instances of the virtual-reality-relatedapplication may be transferred in accordance with the first and seconddigital data transfer protocols. For example, the data may betransferred to enable the enhanced presentation of the virtual realityexperience to the user when the first and second mobile computingdevices are positioned in front of the respective eyes of the user inthe dual-screen extended landscape configuration. Operation 1008 may beperformed in any of the ways described herein. For example, theplurality of conductors may electrically couple the first data transferconnector plug with the second data transfer connector plug such thatthe data transfer link may be provided in response to the mating of thefirst and second data transfer connector plugs with the respective firstand second data transfer connector receptacles in operations 1002 and1004.

In certain embodiments, one or more of the systems, components, and/orprocesses described herein may be implemented and/or performed by one ormore appropriately configured computing devices. To this end, one ormore of the systems and/or components described above may include or beimplemented by any computer hardware and/or computer-implementedinstructions (e.g., software) embodied on at least one non-transitorycomputer-readable medium configured to perform one or more of theprocesses described herein. In particular, system components may beimplemented on one physical computing device or may be implemented onmore than one physical computing device. Accordingly, system componentsmay include any number of computing devices, and may employ any of anumber of computer operating systems.

In certain embodiments, one or more of the processes described hereinmay be implemented at least in part as instructions embodied in anon-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by one or morecomputing devices. In general, a processor (e.g., a microprocessor)receives instructions, from a non-transitory computer-readable medium,(e.g., a memory, etc.), and executes those instructions, therebyperforming one or more processes, including one or more of the processesdescribed herein. Such instructions may be stored and/or transmittedusing any of a variety of known computer-readable media.

A computer-readable medium (also referred to as a processor-readablemedium) includes any non-transitory medium that participates inproviding data (e.g., instructions) that may be read by a computer(e.g., by a processor of a computer). Such a medium may take many forms,including, but not limited to, non-volatile media, and/or volatilemedia. Non-volatile media may include, for example, optical or magneticdisks and other persistent memory. Volatile media may include, forexample, dynamic random access memory (“DRAM”), which typicallyconstitutes a main memory. Common forms of computer-readable mediainclude, for example, a disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any othermagnetic medium, a compact disc read-only memory (“CD-ROM”), a digitalvideo disc (“DVD”), any other optical medium, random access memory(“RAM”), programmable read-only memory (“PROM”), electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (“EPROM”), FLASH-EEPROM, any other memorychip or cartridge, or any other tangible medium from which a computercan read.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary computing device 1100 that may bespecifically configured to perform one or more of the processesdescribed herein. As shown in FIG. 11, computing device 1100 may includea communication interface 1102, a processor 1104, a storage device 1106,and an input/output (“I/O”) module 1108 communicatively connected via acommunication infrastructure 1110. While an exemplary computing device1100 is shown in FIG. 11, the components illustrated in FIG. 11 are notintended to be limiting. Additional or alternative components may beused in other embodiments. Components of computing device 1100 shown inFIG. 11 will now be described in additional detail.

Communication interface 1102 may be configured to communicate with oneor more computing devices. Examples of communication interface 1102include, without limitation, a wired network interface (such as anetwork interface card), a wireless network interface (such as awireless network interface card), a modem, an audio/video connection,and any other suitable interface.

Processor 1104 generally represents any type or form of processing unitcapable of processing data or interpreting, executing, and/or directingexecution of one or more of the instructions, processes, and/oroperations described herein. Processor 1104 may direct execution ofoperations in accordance with one or more applications 1112 or othercomputer-executable instructions such as may be stored in storage device1106 or another computer-readable medium.

Storage device 1106 may include one or more data storage media, devices,or configurations and may employ any type, form, and combination of datastorage media and/or device. For example, storage device 1106 mayinclude, but is not limited to, a hard drive, network drive, flashdrive, magnetic disc, optical disc, RAM, dynamic RAM, other non-volatileand/or volatile data storage units, or a combination or sub-combinationthereof. Electronic data, including data described herein, may betemporarily and/or permanently stored in storage device 1106. Forexample, data representative of one or more executable applications 1112configured to direct processor 1104 to perform any of the operationsdescribed herein may be stored within storage device 1106. In someexamples, data may be arranged in one or more databases residing withinstorage device 1106.

I/O module 1108 may be configured to receive user input and provide useroutput and may include any hardware, firmware, software, or combinationthereof supportive of input and output capabilities. For example, I/Omodule 1108 may include hardware and/or software for capturing userinput, including, but not limited to, a keyboard or keypad, atouchscreen component (e.g., touchscreen display), a receiver (e.g., anRF or infrared receiver), motion sensors, and/or one or more inputbuttons.

I/O module 1108 may include one or more devices for presenting output toa user, including, but not limited to, a graphics engine, a display(e.g., a display screen), one or more output drivers (e.g., displaydrivers), one or more audio speakers, and one or more audio drivers. Incertain embodiments, I/O module 1108 is configured to provide graphicaldata to a display for presentation to a user. The graphical data may berepresentative of one or more graphical user interfaces and/or any othergraphical content as may serve a particular implementation.

To the extent the aforementioned embodiments collect, store, and/oremploy personal information provided by individuals, it should beunderstood that such information shall be used in accordance with allapplicable laws concerning protection of personal information.Additionally, the collection, storage, and use of such information maybe subject to consent of the individual to such activity, for example,through well known “opt-in” or “opt-out” processes as may be appropriatefor the situation and type of information. Storage and use of personalinformation may be in an appropriately secure manner reflective of thetype of information, for example, through various encryption andanonymization techniques for particularly sensitive information.

In the preceding description, various exemplary embodiments have beendescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will, however,be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto,and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing fromthe scope of the invention as set forth in the claims that follow. Forexample, certain features of one embodiment described herein may becombined with or substituted for features of another embodimentdescribed herein. The description and drawings are accordingly to beregarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a first data transferconnector plug configured to mate with a first data transfer connectorreceptacle of a first mobile computing device; a second data transferconnector plug configured to mate with a second data transfer connectorreceptacle of a second mobile computing device; a housing that housesthe first and second data transfer connector plugs and that isconfigured to facilitate a positioning of the first and second mobilecomputing devices in a dual-screen extended configuration in front ofrespective eyes of a user; and a plurality of conductors electricallycoupling the first and second data transfer connector plugs to provide adata transfer link between the first and second mobile computing deviceswhen the first and second data transfer connector plugs are mated withthe first and second data transfer connector receptacles, respectively;wherein: when the first and second data transfer connector plugs aremated with the first and second data transfer connector receptacles,respectively, sensor data is transferred over the data transfer linkfrom the first mobile computing device to the second mobile computingdevice; the sensor data is representative of at least one of a position,a movement, and an orientation of the first mobile computing device asdetected by a first sensor included within the first mobile computingdevice; and the sensor data is used to generate improved sensor databased on a combination of the sensor data detected by the first sensorand additional sensor data that is detected by a second sensor includedwithin the second mobile computing device and that corresponds to thesensor data detected by the first sensor.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein: the first data transfer connector plug is associated with afirst digital data transfer protocol; the second data transfer connectorplug is associated with a second digital data transfer protocol; thefirst and second mobile computing devices are each configured to executerespective instances of a virtual-reality-related application, therespective instances of the virtual-reality-related applicationconfigured to transfer data associated with the virtual-reality-relatedapplication over the data transfer link and in accordance with the firstand second digital data transfer protocols; and the transferring of thedata associated with the virtual-reality-related application enables anenhanced presentation, to the user when the first and second mobilecomputing devices are positioned in the dual-screen extendedconfiguration in front of the respective eyes of the user, of a virtualreality experience associated with the virtual-reality-relatedapplication.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first digital datatransfer protocol is a same digital data transfer protocol as the seconddigital data transfer protocol.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein thefirst digital data transfer protocol is a different digital datatransfer protocol than the second digital data transfer protocol.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein: when the first and second data transferconnector plugs are mated with the first and second data transferconnector receptacles, respectively, a first instance of a softwareapplication executes on the first mobile computing device and a secondinstance of the software application executes on the second mobilecomputing device; the data transfer link between the first and secondmobile computing devices supports a primary-secondary architecture inwhich application data associated with the software application istransmitted by a system separate from the first and second mobilecomputing devices to only the first instance of the softwareapplication; and at least some of the application data is transferred bythe first instance executing on the first mobile computing device to thesecond instance executing on the second mobile computing device by wayof the data transfer link.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: whenthe first and second data transfer connector plugs are mated with thefirst and second data transfer connector receptacles, respectively, afirst instance of a software application executes on the first mobilecomputing device and a second instance of the software applicationexecutes on the second mobile computing device; the data transfer linkbetween the first and second mobile computing devices supports apeer-to-peer architecture in which application data associated with thesoftware application is transmitted by a system separate from the firstand second mobile computing devices to both the first and secondinstances of the software application; and synchronization dataassociated with the software application is exchanged between the firstand second instances of the software application executing on the firstand second mobile computing devices, respectively, by way of the datatransfer link.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the housing isconfigured to facilitate the positioning of the first and second mobilecomputing devices in a dual-screen extended landscape configuration foran enhanced presentation of a virtual reality experience to the user;and the dual-screen extended landscape configuration is facilitated byallowing the first and second data transfer connector plugs to mate withthe first and second data transfer connector receptacles, respectively,only when the first and second mobile computing devices are physicallyadjacent to one another and positioned in the dual-screen extendedlandscape configuration.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thehousing is constructed of a reshapable material configured to permit auser adjustment of an angle between the first and second mobilecomputing devices when the first and second mobile computing devices arepositioned in the dual-screen extended configuration in front of therespective eyes of the user.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thehousing is constructed of a non-reshapable material configured toprevent a user adjustment of an angle between the first and secondmobile computing devices when the first and second mobile computingdevices are positioned in the dual-screen extended configuration infront of the respective eyes of the user.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the housing is constructed of a non-reshapable materialconfigured to prevent a user adjustment of an angle between the firstand second mobile computing devices when the first and second mobilecomputing devices are positioned in the dual-screen extendedconfiguration in front of the respective eyes of the user except when anangle-locking feature of the housing is released.
 11. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the housing includes: a first structural elementconfigured to seat the first mobile computing device in the dual-screenextended configuration when the first data transfer connector plug ismated with the first data transfer connector receptacle; and a secondstructural element configured to seat the second mobile computing devicein the dual-screen extended configuration when the second data transferconnector plug is mated with the second data transfer connectorreceptacle.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising anauxiliary connector electrically coupled, by way of the plurality ofconductors, to at least one of the first and second data transferconnector plugs, the auxiliary connector configured to provide, when thefirst and second data transfer connector plugs are mated with the firstand second data transfer connector receptacles, respectively, at leastone of: a power connection by which external power is provided to atleast one of the first and second mobile computing devices; and anotherdata transfer link by way of which application data associated with asoftware application executing on at least one of the first and secondmobile computing devices is transferred to the at least one of the firstand second mobile computing devices.
 13. A method comprising: mating, bya first data transfer connector plug included on a linking apparatus,with a first data transfer connector receptacle of a first mobilecomputing device; mating, by a second data transfer connector plugincluded on the linking apparatus, with a second data transfer connectorreceptacle of a second mobile computing device; facilitating, by ahousing of the linking apparatus that houses the first and second datatransfer connector plugs and when the mating of the first and seconddata transfer connector plugs with the respective first and second datatransfer connector receptacles is performed, a positioning of the firstand second mobile computing devices in a dual-screen extendedconfiguration in front of respective eyes of a user; and providing, by aplurality of conductors of the linking apparatus electrically couplingthe first and second data transfer connector plugs when the mating ofthe first and second data transfer connector plugs with the respectivefirst and second data transfer connector receptacles is performed, adata transfer link between the first and second mobile computingdevices; wherein: when the mating of the first and second data transferconnector plugs with the respective first and second data transferconnector receptacles is performed, sensor data is transferred over thedata transfer link from the first mobile computing device to the secondmobile computing device, the sensor data is representative of at leastone of a position, a movement, and an orientation of the first mobilecomputing device as detected by a first sensor included within the firstmobile computing device, and the sensor data is used to generateimproved sensor data based on a combination of the sensor data detectedby the first sensor and additional sensor data that is detected by asecond sensor included within the second mobile computing device andthat corresponds to the sensor data detected by the first sensor. 14.The method of claim 13, wherein: the first data transfer connector plugis associated with a first digital data transfer protocol; the seconddata transfer connector plug is associated with a second digital datatransfer protocol; the first and second mobile computing devices areeach configured to execute respective instances of avirtual-reality-related application; and the method further comprisesconducting, by the plurality of conductors of the linking apparatus byway of the data transfer link and in accordance with the first andsecond digital data transfer protocols, data associated with thevirtual-reality-related application and transferred by the respectiveinstances of the virtual-reality-related application, the transferringof the data enabling an enhanced presentation, to the user when thefirst and second mobile computing devices are positioned in thedual-screen extended configuration in front of the respective eyes ofthe user, of a virtual reality experience associated with thevirtual-reality-related application.
 15. The method of claim 14, whereinthe first digital data transfer protocol is a same digital data transferprotocol as the second digital data transfer protocol.
 16. The method ofclaim 14, wherein the first digital data transfer protocol is adifferent digital data transfer protocol than the second digital datatransfer protocol.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein: when the matingof the first and second data transfer connector plugs with therespective first and second data transfer connector receptacles isperformed, a first instance of a software application executes on thefirst mobile computing device and a second instance of the softwareapplication executes on the second mobile computing device; the datatransfer link between the first and second mobile computing devicessupports a primary-secondary architecture in which application dataassociated with the software application is transmitted by a systemseparate from the first and second mobile computing devices to only thefirst instance of the software application; and the method furthercomprises conducting, by the plurality of conductors of the linkingapparatus by way of the data transfer link, at least some of theapplication data from the first instance executing on the first mobilecomputing device to the second instance executing on the second mobilecomputing device.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein: when the matingof the first and second data transfer connector plugs with therespective first and second data transfer connector receptacles isperformed, a first instance of a software application executes on thefirst mobile computing device and a second instance of the softwareapplication executes on the second mobile computing device; the datatransfer link between the first and second mobile computing devicessupports a peer-to-peer architecture in which application dataassociated with the software application is transmitted by a systemseparate from the first and second mobile computing devices to both thefirst and second instances of the software application; and the methodfurther comprises conducting, by the plurality of conductors of thelinking apparatus by way of the data transfer link, synchronization dataassociated with the software application and exchanged between the firstand second instances of the software application executing on the firstand second mobile computing devices, respectively.
 19. A systemcomprising: a virtual reality head mount configured to house a firstmobile computing device and a second mobile computing device in adual-screen extended configuration; a first optical lens integrated intothe virtual reality head mount and having a focal length configured tobring a display of the first mobile computing device into focus when thefirst mobile computing device is housed within the virtual reality headmount and the virtual reality head mount is mounted to a head of theuser; a second optical lens integrated into the virtual reality headmount and having a focal length configured to bring a display of thesecond mobile computing device into focus when the second mobilecomputing device is housed within the virtual reality head mount and thevirtual reality head mount is mounted to the head of the user; and amobile computing device linking apparatus integrated into the virtualreality head mount and comprising: a first data transfer connector plugconfigured to mate with a first data transfer connector receptacle ofthe first mobile computing device, a second data transfer connector plugconfigured to mate with a second data transfer connector receptacle ofthe second mobile computing device, a housing that houses the first andsecond data transfer connector plugs and that is configured tofacilitate a positioning of the first and second mobile computingdevices in the dual-screen extended configuration to be viewed by theuser through the first and second optical lenses when the first andsecond mobile computing devices are housed within the virtual realityhead mount and the virtual reality head mount is mounted to the head ofthe user, and a plurality of conductors electrically coupling the firstand second data transfer connector plugs to provide a data transfer linkbetween the first and second mobile computing devices when the first andsecond data transfer connector plugs are mated with the first and seconddata transfer connector receptacles, respectively; wherein: when thefirst and second data transfer connector plugs are mated with the firstand second data transfer connector receptacles, respectively, sensordata is transferred over the data transfer link from the first mobilecomputing device to the second mobile computing device, the sensor datais representative of at least one of a position, a movement, and anorientation of the first mobile computing device as detected by a firstsensor included within the first mobile computing device, and the sensordata is used to generate improved sensor data based on a combination ofthe sensor data detected by the first sensor and additional sensor datathat is detected by a second sensor included within the second mobilecomputing device and that corresponds to the sensor data detected by thefirst sensor.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein: the first datatransfer connector plug is associated with a first digital data transferprotocol; the second data transfer connector plug is associated with asecond digital data transfer protocol; the first and second mobilecomputing devices are each configured to execute respective instances ofa virtual-reality-related application, the respective instances of thevirtual-reality-related application configured to transfer dataassociated with the virtual-reality-related application over the datatransfer link and in accordance with the first and second digital datatransfer protocols; and the transferring of the data associated with thevirtual-reality-related application enables an enhanced presentation, tothe user when the first and second mobile computing devices arepositioned in the dual-screen extended configuration in front of therespective eyes of the user, of a virtual reality experience associatedwith the virtual-reality-related application.